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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
USC Gamecock Opener
Jeju Breaks School Record in Asheville’s Indoor Season Debut
01.11.2025 | Track and Field
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The UNC Asheville track and field team opened its 2025 campaign on Saturday at the Gamecock Opener. Nkosi Jeju highlighted the day by setting a new school record in the long jump.
The Bulldogs had 25 top-10 finishes, 11 top-five finishes, and five podium finishes as a team. Jeju had the highest finish on the day, finishing second in the men's long jump with a distance of 7.34m. Victor Mathuthu held the previous record in the long jump, which he set in 2018 at 7.08m.
Jaheem O'Hara earned a third-place finish in the men's 1,000m with a time of 2:32.79. He was followed closely behind by Logan Russo in fourth at 2:33.08. O'Hara and Russo now check in at No. 2 and No. 3 on Asheville's Top Performance List.
On the women's side of the 1,000m, Isabel Richardson earned a third-place finish with a time of 2:58.49. Her finish put her at No. 2 on Asheville's Top Performance List. Joining Richardson in the 1,000m were Lily Kelpin and Ella Warren, who finished in fifth and sixth, respectively. Kelpin and Warren earned spots on Asheville's Top Performance List, as Kelpin checks in at No. 3 with a time of 3:09.63 and Warren checks in at No. 4 with a time of 3:12.10.
In the men's mile, Paul Kiprotich earned a third-place finish with his time of 4:18.17, laying the benchmark for his collegiate track campaign. On the women's side of the mile, Ella Moore finished fourth at 5:16.42, improving her time from last season by 2.06 seconds, and Lauren Sochia finished seventh at 5:52.90.
In the women's 3,000m, Addi Corl made her collegiate track debut with a third-place finish at 10:22.96. She was joined by Madeline Wittschen, who finished fifth at 10:59.50, and Hanna Guyton, who finished seventh at 12:08.01.
Chaniya Owens finished fifth in the women's triple jump with a distance of 11.22m. Also earning a fifth-place finish was Madison Hannah in the women's weight throw with a distance of 13.28m (PR). Joining Hannah in the weight throw was Jaelyn Arnold who finished seventh at 12.69m, and Christina Jones, who finished ninth at 12.38m (PR).
In the 60m dash, Aaron Higgins ran 7.15 (30th) in the men's section, and the freshman duo of Alexis Vaughan and Zoey Marrero ran 8.11 (26th) and 8.47 (31st), respectively. Over the hurdles, Shemarr Session and Adam Graham both secured personal bests and qualified for the semifinal to finish in 13th (9.81) and 14th (10.66) in the men's 60m hurdles. On the women's side, Madison Eaches placed 27th with a personal best of 12.06 in her collegiate debut.
In the 200m, Jalen Anderson finished in sixth with a time of 21.29, just .09 behind his school record time. Session finished in 14th with a time of 21.69, placing him at No. 4 on the program's top performance list. Murielle Jeanite locked a PR of 26.45 in the women's 200m. Increasing the distance to 300 meters, PRs came from Adam Graham (36.31, 16th), Alexis Vaughan (43.45, 13th), and Zoey Marrero (46.51, 19th). In the 400m race, Joseph Oliver ran a PR of 49.13 (10th).
In her first 800m race, Payton Murphy earned a PR of 2:35.19 to take sixth place. Maddie Hamuka finished right behind in seventh (2:35.44). In the men's 3,000m race, Lance Surles finished 13th with a PR of 8:50.29, and Nate Sullivan followed in 14th with a PR of 8:53.87.
Jeanite also earned a PR in the long jump at 5.00m. In their collegiate long jump debuts, Aaron Higgins finished 10th with a distance of 6.52m, and Blake Hawks jumped 6.10m.
Neely Rogan threw a PR of 10.46 meters in the women's shot put to place 15th, just ahead of Renae Younce, who placed 16th with her PR of 10.35 meters. In the men's section, Noah Henthorn started his freshman season with a PR of 11.11 meters (18th).
In the pole vault, Dylan Metcalf finished eighth with at 3.70m.
In the men's triple jump, Jeju jumped 13.86 meters to place 10th, and Hawks came in 12th with a PR of 13.45 meters. Jeju now sits in third spot on the All-Time Best List for the triple jump.
For full meet results, click HERE.
The Bulldogs will don spikes again next weekend, Jan 17 -18, for the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia.
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Players Mentioned
